Section Sketches of Clayton and Trafford

These abstract section sketches (below) can reflect what surround people in specific space, with the proportion of the traffic lane and pavement, the height and scale of the building, the planting as well as the interaction between people and a person and architecture. On our pilot studies I tested this method, first in Trafford and Clayton.

Old Trafford

Clayton

After last Friday’s discussion, it is possible for us to present some of the data collected through these section sketches with the following: colour; lines of interaction; scale; areas covered by CCTV; boundaries; angle of sunlight (healthy); gray space of buildings; how people use the space with the specific behavior we observe; and lines of vision for standing, sitting and children’s level are studied and naturally incorporated in the sectional drawing of buildings and streets. This can be both on the day (visits) or on camera - which should show how the space performs and functions. With more detailed things inserted in the section sketch they could turn out to be simple or abstract. I think it’s interesting when we put the data in and translate it not only into diagrams/graphics but also this vivid way.

Provflux

Provflux - sponsored by the Providence Initiative for Psychogeographic Studies (PIPS) - was a 2-day event combining public interventions, installations and projects involving mapping and the investigations of one 's relationship to the urban landscape.

To see more images see here.

Pilot Studies

Before heading to Stoke-on-Trent (and more specifically Fenton) the group has carried out a number of pilot studies in areas of Manchester, testing out various different methods of data collection and mapping techniques. The purpose of these pilot studies is to test the various methodologies and review the outcomes of initial forays into the city, including: route and starting point selections; mapping and recording techniques; short tests and reviews of the proposed methodologies; and assembling hardware (maps, cameras, measuring equipment, etc).

Two locations were chosen, Clayton and Trafford. These locations were selected because they have some resemblance to the built environment or urban landscape of the Fenton area of Stoke-on-Trent and therefore any pilot studies carried out there should be reliable. Visits were made across three days, with Clayton being visited on Tuesday 5th October 2011 and Thursday 7th October 2011, and Trafford on Wednesday 6th October 2011 and Thursday 8th October 2011. Prior to visiting each location an initial survey of online maps was carried out to determine which particular area to visit and also determine a starting point. Both areas were accessed via public transport so it was decided that the disembarkation points would be the start of each mapping exercise.

No route was planned before visiting, with the decision taken to follow major routes and then make decisions at junctions with other roads/circulation networks as to whether or not a change of direction was needed. The original intention in Clayton (visited first) was to walk a linear route however during the visit it was decided to change this course of action and carry out a circuit/loop, with investigations or forays into the edges of these routes. The data being collected was also revised along the route to reflect what was being seen/found in that area, these lessons were then applied to Trafford (and then further revised).

Clayton

The Clayton Route was approximately 2.3 miles in length, starting at Sport City before moving into the residential areas bounded by Ashton New Road and Phillips Park/The Vale.

The route taken around Clayton on both visits.

Trafford

The Trafford Route was approximately 1.9 miles in length, starting close to Lancashire County Cricket Club before moving into the residential and commercial areas bounded by Warwick Road and Great Stone Road.

The route taken around Trafford on both visits.

Further documentation and results from these initial pilot studies will be uploaded to this blog, accessible via this tag.

Emotional City Mapping - Artist Christian Nold

Below is an excerpt of an article by Lisa Leff of Fosters Online (Accessed via Softhook here).

"SAN FRANCISCO — As cartography projects go, Christian Nold's approach to charting the peaks and valleys of urban landscapes is decidedly unconventional.

First, he outfits volunteers with global positioning system devices and the sensors used in lie detector tests. Then, he sends his subjects out to wander their neighbourhoods. When they  return, Nold asks them to recount what they saw and felt when the polygraph recorded a quickened heartbeat or an elevated blood pressure."

 You can check out the project here.

And the final maps here.

Inventing Virtual Reality

How to create a virtual reality game...

Augmented Reality - The next big thang?

The idea of augmented reality was first mooted as far back as in 1965, with Ivan Sutherland's now famous essay Augmented Reality: The Ultimate Display. In it, he said that "with appropriate programming… a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked," stating that digital handcuffs would be able to actually restrain users, and those shot by digital characters would be killed in real life ... His vision bears an uncanny resemblance to the Matrix!

Could this be used a means for data collection?

Could this be used as a means for data representation?

I've always been fascinated by computers and the shear complexity of what they do, produce and create. Its mind boggling how far computational technology has come along in the past 10 years opening avenues for BIM, social networking, a global community, the list is endless.

The likes of facebook, twitter and myspace have probably been the most touted recent advances within the computational world, generating platforms of interaction on a scale never before seen. But these technologies are as old now as they are new: what is going to be the next significant technological advancement? Could it be Augmented Reality?

It is defined as the following:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented bycomputer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

In simple terms its the overlaying of computer generated data into a real-world environment. Here are some videos showing its various uses...

Above: A video showing simple augmented reality with 'place recognition' for smartphones.

Above: Here the AR app uses the camera to recognize a pattern and superimposes a 3D object into the virtual / actual space (on the screen).

Above: AR used to advertise products.

The investigation into a virtual / real cross over could be a pretty interesting subject. What is real? What quantifies something as being real? How does one measure this? Is 'real' what we can sense, i.e. see, touch, hear, taste, smell? If a virtual world can produce and stimulate these sense's then the gap between the real and the virtual blurs. ARGHHGH it boggles my mind, but in conclusion I think I've worked out how to theoretically invent the Matrix...

List and Photo-Reel of Derelict Potteries in Stoke-On-Trent

The chaps at 28 Days Later (The UK UE Urbex Urban Exploration Forums) have a collection of shots of derelict potteries in Stoke (click here).

Defining Psychogeography

Seems as though this week we have to do two things ...

1. Research 'Psychogeography' - people that do it, the methods they employ and how this could inform our methodology for data collection + analysis in Fenton.

2. Research Fenton to pick up on interesting facts, points, observations which will re-inform our researched methodologies.

Bit of a definition to kick things off ... "Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals." Another definition is "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities...just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape."

I'm guessing the above definition is what we've got to do!